Government Relations Update - September2022

Summer for elected officials is usually filled up with attending events and community BBQs. This year, election events have taken center stage.

UCP leadership candidates have been crisscrossing the province trying to reach as many Albertans as possible. And our government relations team has been working to connect with them to raise the awareness of co-operatives.

The government itself has been in limbo somewhat without a leader. Our work to affect positive changes for co-operative legislation has stalled as ministers wait to get direction from the next premier, or to see if they will still be a minister. MLAs have been seen around the province campaigning for their preferred leadership candidate, which presents great opportunities for members to interact with your local MLA. We also recommend speaking to one (or more!) of the UCP leadership candidates; whether or not you support the candidate, educating them about your organization will only serve to benefit co-operatives as a whole. Also, even if the candidate does not win, the odds of them being a minister in the next cabinet are high.

Earlier this summer, our team sent out a survey to all UCP leadership candidates asking them their thoughts on various aspects of co-operatives. You can read the survey answers here. The team will compile a similar survey in the next general election to all major political parties. We are also looking forward to having a trade booth at both the NDP and UCP conventions in October. Our goal is to have co-operatives mentioned in both party platforms for the upcoming election.